What do you want from a smartphone? Good looks? New, new features? Decent battery life? The latest operating system? If so, the Nexus S should be right up your alley. The latest Android handset comes direct from Google but where its predecessor, the Nexus One, was made by HTC, this one is created for Google by Samsung.
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COMMENTS

I really like this phone

The letdown for the N1 for me was its battery life - no such problems with the Nexus S.. I'm getting 35 hours with everything switched on (VOIP listening keeping wifi up, Lattitude running, some background apps, GPS, Sync). With the N1 I had to practically bust it down to a dumbphone to get 18 hours.

Only downside is it looks a bit cheap.. very plasticky. Not that I'm a style guru, but it might matter to some.

Looks good

I think it's disappointing there is no external MicroSD and NFC is a waste of time. Otherwise it looks like a strong phone.

One thing that bothers me about my HTC Desire is the paltry amount of internal flash storage in the phone itself which is a serious impediment if you're an app whore. Even with a micro SD and 2.2 installed, you must still install the app code to internal flash and it's easy to run out of space. 16Gb is a lot of space to fill but it's too bad it cannot be augmented.

No external memory

Wot no memory expansion?

Hmm...

Somehow Android smartphones seem to try hard to still be a phone you only use upright -- I don't like these asymmetric humps on the back at all. Lay the thing down on a table in landscape orientation and it's tilted in a very comical way. Also the capacitive touch buttons seem always to be where you want to rest your thumb when holding the thing in landscape.

Anyway, not a bad smartphone but also not a great one, I think. But surely an expensive one.

What do you want from a smartphone?

A keyboard.

And the ability to sync calendar and contacts with my Mac using standard protocols and without jumping through unnecessary hoops. Why is this sort of thing never covered in these reviews? This isn't a site for 13 year olds getting the latest toy, it's a site for professionals who want tools that work.

A Mac user pining for "standard protocols"?

Maybe

This is the phone that might make me jump ship, contract ends this year on my 3gs, so will see what apple deliver too. I am not one of the nutty fandroids or fanbois, who are as bad as each other. I want:

Only concern is around the possibility of attacks/malware on android which are coming, esp as the platform is gathering up share, I don't want my battery life ruined by having to run AV software all the time..

Re: Maybe

a) As the Nexus S is running the latest iteration of Android, 2.3, this is a go. As would any running 2.1 or higher but you'd want at least 2.2 for the speed improvements.

b) With the Nexus phones you get your updates straight from Mountain View so there's no waiting for the manufacturer or network operator to add their bits and pieces. This is definitely the phone for you if you value this option. Don't discount playing around with ROMs

c) Unfortunately this is where the Nexus S falls down. It's running on last year's hardware. The new phones displayed at CES are just a whole new game. Obviously depending on when your contract is up you might want to wait and see when these new contenders begin showing their faces. You'll find most of these will be running 2.3 or higher. Whether they make it to the UK or not is anyone's guess.

Updates

I see to many people complaining about lack of official support at the moment, and unless HTC, etc get this right I can't see me taking them up.

With regards to ROMs my concern is about the lack of transparency, I know theoretically it will be peer reviewed but it is still an area I feel a little uncomfortable about, especially with the potential that Android has for being the next big platform.

The screen will be a big plus if I like it when I see it, my daughter has a new "iTouch", and that screen is miles ahead of my old 3gs, so the new AMOLEDs should be a step up again?

Lets hope this is the start of a proper competitive market with Android fighting it out with Apple, that way we get innovation and the best kit. I will buy whatever I think is best based on my requirements, Apple was still the best 18 months ago, now the two are head to head, with Android slightly edging it, can Apple up their game this coming year to keep pushing this market forward.

Earl

Re. the screen, probably not. I personally think SAMOLED screens are really nice, but I know enough people who would disagree. In addition, Apple's pixel density is still way higher than the competition, but I don't think it's a big enough difference for most people to care.

As for ROMs, I see your point about security. However, I pay to use Modaco ROMs, and Paul would have to be mad to abuse the trust of his paying customers. As long as I have an Android phone, I'll keep paying my sub for the freedom that Modaco provides.

I hope to see some great advancements in Android usability (I personally have nothing against it) and the phone hardware over the next year; competition is good.

Samsung = Fail.

Samsung have a proven track record of "Release and Retire" for high-end handsets. They pump out new models quickly, forget old ones (by months, not years) which get no updates, and their support is notoriously horrid. The last Samsung phone I had was the Galaxy S, which I returned after 3 days. HTC Desire HD is now doing me just fine!

Might not be such a problem on this one

No HD record?

bearing in mind Samsung were the first (or nearly) manufacturer to produce a phone that could record in HD (The Instinct HD - uses the same GPU as the N8 I believe - developed in the UK for those of a HW bent), and that was over a year ago, one has to wonder why this phone doesn't have it.

And

I don't think...

Proxy Settings

No mention if Gingerbread allows you to enter proxt settings (Not available on froyo or any other version). There are many organisations that require you to use their proxy when using their wireless offering (Schools and college for a start). This could be the thing that pushes me to an iPhone.

Re: Proxy

I like it....

Got mine delivered a few weeks ago, and have had no problems (T-Mobile slashing data limits notwithstanding!).

A few points:

>Samsung have a proven track record of "Release and Retire" for high-end handsets. They pump out new models quickly, forget old ones (by months, not years) which get no updates, and their support is notoriously horrid.

Software is released by google directly - other than the lettering on the back, there is no mention of Samsung elsewhere on the handset.

Battery life... I'm a "heavy user"... It's a phone, an email client, an mp3 player, a portable games system, and I get around 18 hours from a charge. Not fantastic, but better than the last generation of Android handset. Don't expect Nokia-like weekly charges though.

The screen is fantastic. The contrast between black and colour is immense - you can safely leave the screen on its dullest backlight setting and read the screen in daylight - saves the battery too.

Only cons are: the quality of plastics used. Feels a little cheap, and the smooth shiny plastic casing easily slips out of your hand (unlike my HTC Hero with a rubberised backing).

And the lack of SD card. I tend to uninstall apps I don't use, delete music once I'm bored of it, and I don't watch movies on my phone. 16GB should be ok with me, but I can't see why Google/Samsung aren't releasing a 32MB "professional" version.

Oh, and Mac user worrying about syncing... love the cloud. Transferred my phonebook, email and calendar to the device within 30 seconds... by signing into my Google account.

85?

Nexus S

Very pleased with mine. Very fast, pleasantly understated appearance and excellent signal and call quality. Battery life is on a par with iPhone4 which it has replaced. May be useful for others to know that on my unit the Battery Doctor app which made a significant improvement to the iPhone4 performance seemed to halve the battery life of the Nexus S. Back to normal once uninstalled.